Table Of ContentEndorsements from the
First Edition
“Gary DePaul’s comprehensive Nine Practices of 21st Century Leadership
makes sense of the vast sea of leadership books. Written with both
managers and scholars in mind, DePaul’s study situates—and demystifies—
the language of leadership in systems thinking. In 15 well-organized and
lucidly written chapters, the author builds a series of metaphors to explain
the practices of expert managers—analyzing, detecting, guiding, nurturing
and more. This book will change your thinking about leadership.”
Edwin Battistella, PhD
Author of Sorry about That: The Language of Public Apology
“Gary has saved anyone with an interest in the topic of leadership a
tremendous amount of legwork and created an incredible resource for
leadership growth. The meta-analysis approach allows us to readily see
patterns among leadership thought leaders and distills them into nine
essential 21st Century leadership practices. Most importantly, the rich
assortment of examples, practices, and recommended actions provided are
a tremendous asset to our development and growth as leaders. A note of
caution: be prepared to see yourself and your own leadership assumptions
and practices challenged (in a good way).”
Rick Rummler, President
The Rummler Group
Co-author of White Space Revisited: Creating Value through Process
“In Nine Practices of 21st Century Leadership, Gary DePaul weaves together
and builds on some of the best current writers and thinkers on leadership.
The Nine Practices – leadership in action – are challenging, but Dr. DePaul
makes them eminently approachable. Trying even a few of the practices can
strengthen your leadership qualities, capabilities, and behaviors. There is
insight and practical advice for all levels of an organization, from individual
contributors to the CEO.”
Don Kirkey, Ed.D.
Director, Leadership Development
Lowe’s Companies, Inc.
“Transitioning from traditional to 21st Century Leadership is a must. This
book gives you the tools to achieve such a goal by analyzing, diagnosing,
directing, nurturing, exposing, facing, developing, and communicating
the elements that enhance the mental and moral qualities, as well as the
capabilities and behaviors. Practicing this leadership approach ultimately
improves personal and team performance, especially when Command and
Control is shifted from a traditional leader to a shared team function.”
Joel Rodriguez, Ed.D.
Superintendent, Chapel Operations
US Air National Guard
“All too often people are put into supervisor, manager, or leader positions
because they are excellent engineers, accountants, or sales people. Most
are not prepared for those positions in any systematic way. This book pro-
vides a roadmap for developing leadership practices within seven suggested
underlying principles. The grids for aligning practices with the suggested
principles and beliefs will be of particular value to the newly promoted,
inexperienced manager or leader.”
Margo Murray, MBA, CPT, C-EI
President & Chief Operating Officer
MMHA The Managers’ Mentors, Inc.
“Gary has done an excellent job of reframing leadership with his emphasis
on practices versus traits or qualities. Gary’s approach provides a deeper
understanding of what constitutes leadership compared to what has been
done in the past. The book will be an invaluable resource. Every learning
and human resource professional can use this book to better ensure their
programs focus on practices that contribute to sustainable gains in human
capital.”
Judith A. Hale, Ph.D., CPT
CEO, The Institute for Performance Improvement, L3C
Author of The Performance Consultant’s Fieldbook and
Performance-Based Certification
“In Nine Practices of 21st Century Leadership, Gary DePaul provides a
Performance Improvement view of leadership practices. Section I demystifies
leadership. Section II introduces the nine practices of leadership from a
performance improvement viewpoint. These include: focus on results, take a
systematic approach, add value, and partner. Throughout, Gary draws on his
experiences as a Performance Improvement professional. A good choice to
add to your Performance Improvement library.”
Dr. Roger M. Addison, CPT
Chief Performance Officer, Addison Consulting
Co-author of Performance Architecture
“Nine Practices of 21st Century Leadership removes the mystery and provides
much needed shortcuts to deciphering the wide range of current leadership
techniques and philosophies. It is a fantastic tool to help both new and
successful leaders build and expand their repertoire and target the areas
they want to explore further. A must read, and the foundation of every
professional library, Dr. DePaul provides a fantastic starting point with lots of
helpful tips and best practices.”
Matt Peters, MBA, CPT
Director, Talent Management
Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA)
“In my work with the TLS Continuum as discussed in our Achieving HR
Excellence through Six Sigma, we discuss the need to convert managers into
leaders as a critical requirement to implement the procedures we discuss.
Gary DePaul’s new book provides a precise roadmap for that journey which
can be followed by anyone in a leadership role.”
Daniel T. Bloom SPHR, Six Sigma Black Belt, SCRP
CEO, Daniel Bloom and Associates, Inc.
Author of Achieving HR Excellence through Six Sigma
“Gary DePaul does a masterful job of highlighting best practices for those
interested in boosting their leadership skills. The chapter, Facing the
Unknown Like Lions, is a great reminder of the importance of staying in the
moment and listening to your mind and heart before taking action.”
Roberta Matuson, The Talent Maximizer®
Matuson Consulting
Author of Talent Magnetism and Suddenly in Charge
“In his new book, Dr. DePaul provides a helpful combination of tactics,
tools, and resources for leaders at every level. It’s a handy, accessible, and
easy-to-use guide for everyone interested in expanding his or her leadership
capabilities.”
Jim Hill, CEO
Proofpoint Systems
Nine Practices of
21st Century Leadership
Near the end of the 20th Century, the leadership concept radically
evolved away from the traditional concept of accomplishing work through
others. Unfortunately, too many professionals unconsciously still have
faulty traditional assumptions that can get them, their teams, and their
organizations in trouble.
The author has researched the evolution of leadership and summarizes
seven contemporary principles, twenty-six underlying leadership beliefs, and
nine crucial practices of 21st Century Leadership. While too many leadership
books focus on qualities, DePaul explains specific behaviors for practicing
leadership.
The second edition includes new research about leadership and
leadership development. With the pandemic, organizations have had to
rely more on effective leadership to build high-performing teams, often at
a distance. Training departments have had to radically update how they
develop employees at all levels, and executive coaches have transitioned to
virtual client support. With all these environmental changes as well as new
social pressures on organizations to embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion,
organizations need to change how they lead and avoid allowing their culture
to develop by chance.
Nine Practices of
21st Century Leadership
A Guide for Inspiring Creativity,
Innovation, and Engagement,
2nd Edition
Gary A. DePaul, PhD, CPT
Second Edition Foreword by L. David Marquet
Author of Turn the Ship Around! and Leadership Is Language
First Edition Foreword by Edward G. Muzio
Author of Iterate, Make Work Great, and Four Secrets to Liking Your Work
First published 2023
by Routledge
605 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10158
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2023 Gary A. DePaul, PhD, CPT
The right of Gary A. DePaul to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with
sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic,
mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any
information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers.
Trademark notice: Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for
identification and explanation without intent to infringe.
ISBN: 978-1-032-22634-7 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-1-032-22633-0 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-003-27344-8 (ebk)
DOI: 10.4324/9781003273448
Typeset in Garamond
by KnowledgeWorks Global Ltd.
To the stewards and members of the
International Society for Performance Improvement
who continue to guide and inspire me.
